Yesterday was All about Manta Rays... Today was all about the SHARKS!

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We had an amazing day with the whale sharks today. There was a lot of sharks, all ram feeding on the billions of fish eggs floating on the surface. The action was so damn good. I am over the moon with how much fun we all had today.

We did have some major cloud coverage though and the water was a bit dark, and with all the fish eggs murking everything up, it made photography a bit challenging. So I decided to shoot video instead of stills. I did snap a few stills, but not as many as I usually shoot on a day like this. Video in these conditions is a lot more forgiving.

We all had a blast swimming with the sharks today, and everyone had a chance to capture something fun. I know I did.

I did not post a blog yesterday because the signal at our hotel was pretty glitchy. Every time I tried to log on, I got kicked out. But it gave me a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep.

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A quick update for you; Rooster showed up! I have seen this shark every summer for the past 15-ish years. I was super happy to see her. I finally got an ok photo of her dorsal fin. I would love to get a better shot of her fin above the water surface, so you can see why we dubbed her Rooster. And I know Rooster is a boy name, but it’s all about equality right now, so it’s fitting. LOL

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DAY TWO

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Yesterday was day two of our expedition and it was all about the mantas. There was so many manta rays swimming around, it was pure magic. Today we hardly saw any mantas, which I find interesting. Where did they all go?

In the area we were hanging out at yesterday, there wasn’t very many sharks, which was surprising. But that was fine with me, variety is great on big animal dives, and manta rays are really exciting animals to swim with.

The few sharks that were there, were all coke bottle feeding, and that made for EPIC photo opportunities.

The day was just great, we had clear skies and blue water, and the action was top notch, the kind of stuff that dreams are made of. It was a hell of a day at sea.

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Ok, its 11:30PM and tomorrow is our final of the day of the trip, so I is going to bed. Super tired today, but wanted to get a quick blog up. Until tomorrow… FYI; gonna try going live on FB again. I went live this morning, but FB kicked me out pretty quick.

Arrival Day... Whale Sharks off Isla Mujeres Begins!

Today is arrival day… a new adventure begins. We are on Isla Mujeres Mexico to swim with whale sharks and if we are lucky manta rays. I am looking forward to this week and the magic we will all hopefully experience.

Last nights sunset. Isla Mujeres does not disappoint.

We have been running this trip every summer since 2005. So when we hit the water tomorrow morning it will officially be 18 seasons that we have been running this experience. 18 years of whales sharks, is pretty cool. It is often the same sharks that return to this spot year after year, so I am hoping to see if I can recognize any of the individuals that come here. It is really difficult because they all look the same. One whale shark I can easily recognize is one we have dubbed Rooster, he has a shredded dorsal fin, that looks like a roosters comb.

WOW, 18 years. So much has changed since we first started offering this trip. It was really raw and wild back then. We first ran these trips out of Holbox, Mexico. Back then there was only three or four hotels on the island. Now, there are at least 30 to 40. So much has changed. I remember, trash was a problem on the island back then, I wonder what they do now?

We changed island locations about 12 years ago when the whale sharks started spending more of their time in the Caribbean sea vs the Gulf of Mexico. Which was fine by me, I prefer the sharks in blue water vs. the green water, plus the blue water is warmer than the Gulf. It can be a bit chilly.

Anyway back to today…

I picked up our friends this morning from the Cancun airport and brought them to the island. Arrival day is always a bit hectic, but thankfully it ran really smoothly - No ones flights were delayed, and everyone’s bags showed up when they got off the plane. When I arrived at the airport, everyone was already through customs and waiting outside, made for a fast pickup and smooth transfer to the island.

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Van ride to the ferry.

We drove to the ferry terminal, chatting it up, and getting to know each other a little better.

We have some returning friends on the trip and a few new faces. It is always fun meeting new people and seeing old friends when they show up on our trips, it often feels more like family reunions rather than wildlife trips sometimes. Today was one of those days.

Anyway, its late… I am going to keep this short as it is 11:50 at night and we have to wake up at 6:40am for a quick breakfast at 7 and then out on the boat at 8. I am hoping for a great day with the sharks.

Day One begins!

More tomorrow… thanks for reading.

Day 3 - The Mantas Are EVERYWHERE!

July 16, 2021 - Day three was freaking amazing! We didn't spend much time with the whale sharks. In fact, we only saw about three or four of them, but it did not matter because there were manta rays everywhere.

It was a slow start, and once we got out to the area, the radio chatter was that there were not many whale sharks. When we got to the area, we saw ten plus boats all taking turns with one shark. I am not a fan of that, and we will go off to try to find another shark when we see that happening.

While we were motoring around looking for sharks, we heard reports of manta rays coming in over the radio. We listened for a while and motored over to an area where our captain's buddy told him to look. Sure enough, the mantas were there; at first, we thought it would be one or two, but NOPE! We hit the jackpot; I am guesstimating at least 100 mantas were in the area because they were everywhere; it was magic.

The excitement on the boat was electric. Everyone hurried their gear on, all of us wanting to be in the water. These are the moments you live for - those wild, unpredictable, memorable moments that nature gifts you with sometimes. They are rare and oh-so-special. We took advantage of all our time in the water, hoping to capture something special in our cameras. With as many mantas that we encountered, I have no doubt our friends all left with something fun and unique.

We swam with them all morning, none of us even thinking about trying to find whale sharks. The water was murky and thick with food, and the mantas were feeding up a storm. It was so good. After about two hours of swimming with the mantas, we look over and saw one whale shark swimming towards… of course; behind that shark were at least 12 boats, filled with tourists, all hoping for a chance to swim with it.

That blows my mind. I know that whale sharks are unique, and swimming with them is amazing, but in the water, less than 50 yards away were 20 plus manta rays, and none of the boats were trying to put their guests in with them. I guess I do get it; after all, it is a shark, and sharks are special. But damn, mantas are genuinely magical beings, and it seems a shame that they were not willing to show them what else is unique about the waters surrounding Isla Mujeres. Instead, they all just crowded this poor shark.

We watched the shark passed our boat. After it swam by, I asked our captain to move us, to get us away from all the boats following it. We took off to find quieter waters with more mantas to swim with, which was not hard because they were everywhere. I guess it is good that the other boats did not want to swim with them; it meant more mantas for my buddies and me. HELL YEAH! Tomorrow is our final day in the water, but the forecast shows a lot of rain. We will make the most of it; we are planning to get wet anyway.

Thank you for reading.